stockholm weekend pics: out and about and at home in june

out and about...

dinner at two skybars with friends! himlen, the skybar at skrapan, was a treat with its swedish-french menu. my fish was gorgeous as were the cocktails. it was the first time that i gathered with more than just one friend and we were all so happy to finally be together. in my neighouhood, the newly opened sjöstaden skybar was lovely. i loved its open and airy space. the fish here was delicious, so good and my friends say the steak was perfectly cooked. being just a skip and hop away from home, i think we will frequent this place often. of course, the views were super cool.

two date night in södermalm! we tried the new to us symbios, a cute restaurant just by nytorget, serving modern european food. sitting on their patio, we ate really well but what stands out is the freshly baked crispy bread... just excellent. and, lucky us, they sell their loaves during the week. i also remember stefan realizing, on the walk home, that our bill was way more than we ate. it turns out they charged us for three bottles of wine instead of three glasses but they happily reimbursed us and graciously comped us the glasses of wine. again, we found ourselves on a patio in the nytorget area, actually, the whole street is one giant patio, we love being out and about here in the summer. stefan and i had a lunch date at shanti gossip. it might be my favourite indian place although my boys might argue indian street food is the favourite.

i finally tried the ice cream from magnus johansson's new gelato place, just down the street from us. it was as good as expected coming from him. he is a beloved pastry chef here in sjöstad.

with work finished, it was lovely to just roam the streets and walk into shops for a spot of shopping, a favourite pasttime of mine. the first picture is one of my go to shops, tambur, where you can always find the perfect gift.

at home...

with their kitchen under renovation, we cooked dinner for our friends ximena, petter, and their girls. stefan's bbq ribs and smoked shrimp, kött kultur's meat, despina's dill salad, the coop's potato salad and cecelia's strawberry cake made for a lovely dinner. cece came by earlier in the day to bake since she hasn't been able to at home and we are so glad that she did, her desserts are to die for.

we eat on the balcony whenever stefan barbeques, he makes awesome kebabs. or, to enjoy an aperitif (svart is pictured). and, kai and stefan installed new decking tiles! it looks so much cleaner now, makes me happy.

loving my gubi mirror and vases filled with greenery and summer flowers. loki wants no part of this pic and escapes as soon as i snap the picture.

ylva and loki in their summer positions... sprawled across the floor here and there and everywhere.

ylva in the shade and in her new favourite tent which we keep by the balcony door so she can watch the birds, her favourite pasttime.

loki always looking for food...

in just a few days we, FINALLY, after 20 months and now fully vaccinated, go on vacation outside of sweden. woohoo! see you back here at the end of the summer :) have a lovely time and stay safe.

stockholm weekend pics: a sakara picnic

cherry blossoms, like most places, are a big thing here. they are a symbol of springtime in any place with four seasons. and with places, like stockholm, with such long winters, looking forward to the flowers blossoming is a welcome activity. 

they bring such joy, it's fun to people watch, seeing countless people taking selfies with the pink flowers and enjoying picnics. usually, people gravitate to kungsholm parken to view the pink lovelies. however, we discovered that swedes also make their way to our neighbourhoood. at luma parken, by the tram stop, a teeny area of cherry blossoms can be filled with people taking selfies with the flower. 

and we immediately said yes when invited by nils and jenny to picnic at luma parken. they supplied the picnic food - sushi, cheese, olives, and crackers and we supplied dessert, courtesy of magnus johansson bageri, of course.

stefan and i couldn't help but think about the street we lived on in vancouver, lined with cherry blossoms. i love how a little thing, like flowers, brings such happiness. and time with friends, there is always laughter when we get together with these two :)

it wasn't all pink flowers, some spring cleaning took place too. this brings me happiness too... tidying, cleaning, re-organizing.

and ylva... she brings such joy and is always looking for comfort.

hope you enjoyed cherry blossoms too... and have a cat to cuddle (if not, adopt now!)

10 swoon worthy gifts for mother's day (or an upcoming 23rd wedding anniversary, hint hint)

pic from flowery

1. a weekly home delivery bouquet... a friend loves her subscription.

pic from scandinavian walls

2. poster of frida kahlo, love the colours.

pic from svenskt tenn

3. love the contrasting silver elephant candle holder on its gold plate. we are accumulating quite the collection of candle holders, as one does when living in darkness most of the year!

pic from flattered

4.  i know it's april but, right now, in stockholm, we are revisiting winter. it's been cold and snowing! would love these boots.

pic from klee larson website

5. painting by vancouver artist klee larson, swooning over the pinks and blues! her whole family is creative and they own a lovely corner café called le marché st. george.

pic from svenskt tenn

6. can never have enough pretty little vases. 

pic from desenio

7. this forest photograph is serene, it would be a reminder to take a breath and slowly exhale.

pic from svenskt tenn

8. a cute teapot to match the cute mugs i was gifted for my birthday... i drink copious amounts of tea in a single day.

pic from cappelen dimyr

9. i have been coveting this rug for awhile... saving my pennies.

pic from gustavsbergs porslins fabrik

10. lisa larson's black cat has been patiently waiting for me to bring it home, since i first arrived in sweden.

happy may everyone!

stockholm weekend pics: cozy at home and in the woods

my morning walk to work

after our northern adventure visiting umeå and luleå (pics coming soon!), the rest of the month was pretty quiet, per usual. i am the only one getting out of the house to go to work. kai is mostly studying from home and stefan, while always mostly working from home, has been 100% at home since early last year. 

stefan cooks beautiful food for us and i especially loved the ramen noodles we enjoyed after our walk in the woods. really, we should do more walks, while it is not so tempting to head out when it's cold and the light slowly disappears before your eyes, it's always been a good idea. no regrets. 

back to food, stefan was gifted a fondue pot from work, our first. kai especially loved it. the chimichurri sauce to go with the meat was eye rolling good. the shrimp, with the 'shrimp cocktail sauce', fulfilled my craving. we can't find shrimp cocktail sauce here so stefan whipped some up and it tasted exactly the same as the bottle version from back home. stefan takes such good care of us, really, i am beyond grateful and happy :)

we go to the södermalms saluhall (aka, indoor market) together on weekends, where a new falafel place opened up. the owners are very sweet and kept refilling my plate with falafel. needless to say, i was stuffed.

i bring home flowers every so often to brighten the early nights. tulips have been my go-to simply because that is all the our local supermarket has on offer but when i saw the ruffled ones, a big smile crossed my face. love them. 

the cats are a bundle of cozy during these long nights too... although loki can be a bit of grump these days and, spending so much time with kai, since he's been home, loki seems to favour him over me or stefan. but ylva is always up for a belly rub.

oh, i decided to keep the starlights up for a little longer than usual, to help with that cozy factor.

off to work

hope you had a safe january. and, one that was filled with good food... i can loan stefan out to you ;)